A collection of reflections and homilies that speak to God's unconditional love for each of us; and how, as brothers and sisters, we are called to love and forgive one another as God loves and forgives us.

Monday, May 15, 2017

Just to Follow My Friend

(reflection by Deacon Lex at 25th Ordination Anniversary
Mass)

There’s a song by
Christopher Walker that Peter Coll, our Music Director, often plays during
Mass. The song is entitled, “Because the
Lord is My Shepherd” and its refrain sums up why I became a deacon:

Lord, you are my Shepherd,

You are my friend.

I want to follow you always,

Just to follow my friend.

I have felt the Lord’s
presence throughout my life as my friend. He has been with me at the heights
and in the pits; when I felt joy and surrounded by love, and when I was
depressed and felt lost in the universe. I want to follow him always, just to
follow my friend.

My life has been blessed in
so many ways: I am a husband, a father, a grandfather, and a permanent deacon
in our Catholic Church. Each day of my life I thank the Lord for his
friendship, for my sweetheart Wanda, for our children and grandchildren, and
for the love of so many souls I’ve met along my journey.

I was so very fortunate 25
years ago to be planted here at Mount Carmel: to serve you, my sisters and
brothers in our parish community; to have the friendship of the many Carmelite
Fathers who have served here over the years, and the five wonderful pastors who
have been our shepherds: Fathers Bob, Kurt, Ashley, Leonard, and now Father
Dan.

It’s a privilege and a joy
to serve alongside Father Emmett, Sister Regina, and Sister Nora, and my
brother deacons, David and Michael.

Thank you, Wanda, for your
love and for being my best friend throughout these first fifty years of our
marriage and thank you for your unwavering encouragement and support of my
ministry as a deacon.

Thank you, Lord, for my
life, for my family, for the gift of faith, and for all my blessings.